Fate is for the foolish
by IvyEvergreen
Summary: ShiroXIchigo AU. Ichigo is a male guard who has to dress as a female in order to protect Rukia, the heir to a large plot of land and power. Shiro is a pirate/rogue who wants to nab Rukia in order to force her to lead him and his crew to treasure and Ichigo, as the loyal guard he is, tags along for the ride and he has no reason to regret it until the captain starts comming onto him.
1. Chapter 1

I'm new to the world of male love but it's enjoyable so I'm going to take a shot at it. This is Shiro (hichigo/hollow Ichigo) x Ichigo. If you don't enjoy it, you should abuse the back button with how many times you hit it. This is NOT betaed, if there is a mistake, I'm human and thus lazy and don't care. If its a huge error like a mispelled character name, please point it out. If its just a missing comma you can point it out, I most likely won't change it. I do updates randomly but if a week goes by without an update, review/pm me and tell me to get my butt in gear. If there's a side pairing you like, I can add it so tell me. Well read and review if you would please so that this whole thing don't suck.

XxXxX

The lean well-built boy looked out from the shaded balcony at the surroundings of the garden where the woman he guarded sat drinking tea with her older brother. The girl was the heir to a large plot of land and power that most people wouldn't even dare to dream of. Her brother would leave everything to her when he passed on which, due to the poison that an upset servant had slipped into his tea, sadly wouldn't be too much longer. If the boy sitting on the balcony hadn't noticed the strange tint to the silver cup then the male would have died halfway through the tea. The poison had however done damage that was incurable and that was the teen was going to carry on his shoulder for the rest of his life even if he was the hero of that story, he had failed to do any good.

"Ichigo," the girl called glancing up from her cup of tea, her black bangs hanging over her violet eyes. The boy looked down focusing on her in confirmation that he had heard her. Ichigo didn't talk mostly because if he did, people would know he was a guy. For some reason, since they had allowed women to rule the land, only women could be warriors, knights, or even personal guards; so Ichigo, with the help of the mischievous girl, became a woman in looks and mannerism so that he could hone his amazing sword skills and look over the woman he had sworn his life to protect after she had saved him.

"Would you like a cup?" she asked. Ichigo shook his head and returned his gaze to the background for possible threats to Rukia. Which was a good thing because he noticed the shadow of a well hidden form and the throwing knife they held in their hand. Ichigo wasted no time in hopping from the balcony and the second his feet touched the ground he took off with the kimono he was wearing to show off his semi feminine curves blowing behind him as he pulled the sword from his back. The person, whoever it was, took off the second Ichigo started heading their way and Ichigo ran faster as he began a pursuit.

Ichigo finally caught up with the fleeing girl, as he now saw now, when they had reached the entrance to the large estate that Lady Rukia, the woman he protected, thrived in.

"I don't care if you have caught me I'm not saying anything," she firmly stated. Ichigo just huffed as he grabbed the girls shirt and dragged her down the gravel road to the main house so that people who actually wanted to question the girl could. Halfway there he met up with Rukia and Byakuya as they made their way to see who/what Ichigo had been in pursuit of. One look at the knife still hanging on the girls waist had Byakuya's eyes hardening.

"I take it from here," he stated as he took the girl from Ichigo. He then proceeded to drag the girl back to the manor. However, Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he saw how halfheartedly the girl struggled.

"Does that bother you as well?" Rukia asked coming to the same conclusion as her guard. Ichigo nodded in confirmation to the girls question, so the two followed after Byakuya.

"What do you suggest?" Rukia asked after making sure her brother was out of earshot.

"She wanted to be caught, I wouldn't suggest taking her to the main house, rather somewhere less extravagant and less of a threat to you should there be an incident," Ichigo murmured as they walked making sure to keep his voice soft in case he was overheard. Rukia rolled her eyes but nodded and moved up to her brother and, taking his arm, tapped out the assumption in code. Byakuya didn't give any sign of noticing until they reached the crossroad to the house and barn and he made the turn for the barn as Rukia moved for the house to tell the staff where they would be needed for. Ichigo started to follow but, he felt a shiver run down his spine that usually signified being watched. Ichigo's eyes swept the surroundings for any signs of life as his hand tightened around the sword still hanging limply in his grasp. Finding nothing but trusting his instincts he began moving again, but slower than before. XxXxX From the perch that Ichigo had been occupying earlier that over looked the gardens, a white figure smirked as his eyes raked over the guard he had unnerved, girls usually didn't interest him but this one was someone who he was tempted to pursue.

"S..sir," a voice stuttered behind him.

"What?" he asked as he turned his head to look at the form of a groundskeeper that had stumbled upon him when he had watched the chase.

"May I ask what's going on?" the man asked.

"No," he answered glancing down only to find the girl was gone. He 'tsked' before turning to the shy looking groundskeeper. "What's the pretty orange haired girl called?" he asked.

"Sh..she's Rukia's p..p..personal g..g..guard," the boy managed to stutter out.

"Name?" he demanded.

"Ichigo," the boy said as a smile crept upon his lips.

"I'll let you live if you give her a message," he said as he turned to face the boy. "Tell her that Shiro looks forward to seeing her in a few days."

The boy gave him a questioning look but when Shiro started narrowing his eyes at the boy the boy vigorously nodded.

"Good," Shiro said as he yanked on one of the ropes he had used to tie up the poor unsuspecting groundskeeper. As the rope came undone the kid hopped up and took off after the Lady and her hot guard.

Shiro just stood there looking over the house, lost in his own thoughts about their plan...

1) Get into party happening in a few days.

2) Pretend there's a problem with their ride.

3) Sneak into her ladyship's room.

4) Kidnap the Lady.

5) Lady leads them to their treasure.

6) Kill Lady.

7) Enjoy wealth.

It was a great plan except there was that personal guard that he hadn't counted on. That usually wouldn't bother him but the girl was fast and the way she had drawn her sword showed skill and a need to protect that made Shiro want to leap from his hiding spot and court the girl. Oh well all he, Grimmjow, and the rest of the crew needed to do was be ready to gag the girl and run from the pretty little orange head. If only his plans didn't always catch snags along the way.

XxXxX

I don't care what you say as long as you say something, so review please dearests.


	2. Chapter 2

o.O I got lots of reviews all were positive so I think its safe to assume that I'm doing ok so far. I've had this ready for a while now but have never really thought about publishing until a friend demanded I do so, thus reviews are appreciated. No one mentioned side pairings so I'm not sure if people don't want them or I get to pick and choose... Anywho, here's the next chapter and tell me if there are some things that make you reread to understand or what you think was funny.

XxXxX

Ichigo moved throughout the house preoccupied with his thoughts to the point that he jumped slightly when he heard a shout from the room next to him. "Hush, you don't want Byakuya to hear us do you?" a quiet female voice demanded. Ichigo sweat dropped as he heard the voices of the 'Shinagami Women's Association' from within the room. Ichigo figured they were just messing around and as long as they didn't pose a threat to Rukia then it wasn't his job to bother with the pests.

"I..Ichigo" a familiar stutter called out as a short stocky black-haired boy ran up to him.

"Yamada?" Ichigo asked taking in the deshelved garden worker.  
"Um..I..I'm supposed to tell you th..that Sh..Shiro can't wait to see you in a few days!" the boy said rushing through the last part. Ichigo raised his eyebrow at the boy.

"SORRY!" Yamada shouted in panic. Ichigo was about to respond but the door that the women had hidden behind swung opened.

"What's going on out here" Matsumoto demanded as she glared at Yamada until she caught sight of Ichigo. "Ichigo" she shouted as she jumped on him and promptly dragged him into the meeting as he sent a look to Yamada that said 'go find help' and the boy ran off to do just that.

The other woman just stared as if they were deer caught in headlights, and if Ichigo actually cared then they would have been. Instead Matsumoto just pulled Ichigo over to the circle and kept him there as they talked about money problems and some other things that Ichigo wanted to question because he didn't see how they were imperative to the women's association but wisely kept his mouth shut. About half an hour after he had been dragged into the room the door swung opened again to show an angry Byakuya and, with one well place glare, the women took off as fast as their legs could carry them.

"I don't see why my house is ideal for their folly," Byakuya said as he sent angry glares after the women. Ichigo shrugged and stood up to go find Rukia before she got herself into trouble but he was stopped by the man's arm.

"Ichigo, there is a party in a few days, that's all the girl said; she kept going on about how it was imperative that we let her go before then, any ideas?" Byakuya asked. Ichigo pondered the revelation, the girl had a knife on a nobles land and she was close to the main house then she let herself be caught and now she demanded to be released. Ichigo moved his head so he was looking into the older male's eyes.  
"I think she was looking for entrances and exits during the party," Ichigo said making sure to keep the feminine tone to his voice. Byakuya nodded and moved away, most likely to make preparations for the party or to deal with the girl it didn't concern him either way. Ichigo went the other way in search of Rukia.

XxXx

When Ichigo finally found Rukia she was sitting in the garden scribbling the pictures she seemed to be famous for called 'Chappy' who was a little rabbit...or so he had been told. Ichigo didn't see the rabbit from the blob it looked like, but he still was supportive and a fair amount of people seemed to enjoy them.

"Byakuya's cooking for the event," Rukia suddenly spoke. Ichigo hummed at the thought as he sat next to Rukia, Byakuya was an excellent cook but his dishes never looked good because Byakuya's version of cool didn't go well with other people's.  
"What do you think?" Rukia suddenly demanded as she swung the notebook she had drawn in and shoved it in his face. Ichigo looked at the rabbit with orange hair and a large sword as it stood over a raccoon with Xs for eyes and Ichigo let a smile grace his lips as he nodded in agreement not sure what the point was.

"Good," she said as she tore it out and began scribbling words on the paper before she folded it and shoved it to his chest. Ichigo looked at her confused before he opened the paper and read what she had swiftly scribbled on it, 'This is an invitation to Ichigo that he should get over herself and come to the party a few days from now as a guest and not look like a creep standing on the balcony as she looks around. The party is at 6 and if you don't agree I'll get Matsumoto to help me.' Ichigo cringed at the last sentence before he looked up at Rukia who was grinning from ear to ear. Ichigo begrudgingly nodded and felt the girl jump onto him in joy.

"May I request the knowledge of what is going on?" Byakuya asked as he came from the house with a plate of baked goods in his hands.

"Ichigo agreed to come to the party as a guest and not a creeper!" Rukia exclaimed happily.

"Does she have a dress?" Byakuya asked and Rukia's face fell.

"The Shinagami Women's Association is here to help," the little pink Yachiru called from the rose bushes as she hopped out startling everyone and causing Ichigo to duck and roll as his hand automatically went for the sword on his back.

"In compensation you must try one of these," Byakuya said offering the pink ball of energy the tray of baked goods. Ichigo starred incredulously at the noble who, as it looked, had planned all of this. The whole rose-bush was suddenly filled with whispers and conversation that ended with Nami popping from the rose-bush.

"Very well," she said pushing the glasses further up her face. All the women came over and picked up the man who looked a bit like a cloud and took a bite.

"Byakuya! Did you cook this!" Matsumoto demanded as she made a grab for another cookie.

"Yes," Byakuya stoically said as the women finished off the cookies on the tray.  
"Alright, let's get to designing!" Yachiru called with a mouth full of cookie.

"How about I just give you her measurements and you work from there, I need to go out," Rukia suddenly cut in, saving Ichigo from having to explain himself to all the women. The girls nodded as Rukia wrote them down and roughly dragged Ichigo off to the market.

"So, why do you know my measurements?" Ichigo asked, slightly perplexed.

"I, the great Rukia, know everything!" Rukia called, grinning before taking off.

XxXxX

did it suck? Was it amazing? Was it funny? Do you wonder about what the party will entail and how Shiro is going to nab Rukia? If you said yes to the last one I'm only halfway through that chapter and love ideas from readers. Also I have this sudden urge to juggle a bunch of apples but I don't know how to juggle, I'm going to go google it while I figure out party plans because I currently have no life.


	3. Chapter 3

I like lists, they make things so neat and organized, I also like reviewers who give me ideas on what to dress Ichigo as, Thank you Guest, if you have outfit ideas I suck at descriptions and outfits so it'll most likely show up with a few changes on my part to make it fit to the story. Well the next chapter.

XxXxX

Ichigo walked around the town with Rukia for a few hours before she felt that the women had given up on kidnapping him to stick him in a dress for the party. "What did you want to do with your life?" Rukia suddenly asked on their way back to her house.

"What do you mean?" He responded raising a brow.

"You serve me because I helped you out when you were in a jam and you're an excellent swordsman but, isn't there something you wanted to do before me?" Rukia asked. Ichigo could only guess how she felt, because of the bangs covering her eyes.

"I never really thought about it, the only thing that crossed my mind on a day-to-day basis was how to make sure I got home with food and water for my sisters without dying or being caught by nobles. If you're thinking that you stopped my life from having freedom, I need to say my life never started until you stepped into it," Ichigo assured the smaller girl. Rukia laughed loudly at that.

"Silly, I'm not worried about that, I just wondered if you had any dreams or hopes," She responded grinning.

Ichigo was about to respond when he felt they were being watched. Ichigo's hand flew to the sword on his hip as a group of men jumped from the surrounding alleys and made a grab for Rukia. It should be a rule for kidnappers not to try to kidnap royalty in front of their personal guard, especially if the guard had a sharp weapon.

Shiro looked on from a few rooftops away as the orange headed girl took out his low-level goons with ease. Don't get Shiro wrong, he knew they didn't have a chance to get to the raven girl before they were knocked out, he needed to know the extent of the girl's training. From the looks of it he and Grimmjow needed to go back to the drawing board and come up with another way to grab the raven girl because now, even he would be having trouble defeating the orange head AND run his crew afterwards.

## time skip to the night of the party ##

Ichigo sighed for the hundredth time that evening as he looked back to the dance floor and then around the dimly lit ballroom. The lighting made it difficult to see and without his bird's-eye view all these people crowded his vision. The Shinigami Women's Association had forced him into a flowing black dress made to fit him perfectly, crazy Rukia and her infinite useless knowledge, there was a slit at the side to hide his sword and several knifes should he choose to use them, and to top it off the dress had blue and green dragons roaming all over the silk fabric.

"Are you having fun?" Rukia asked as she came and stood next to him.

"It's too hard to see in here," Ichigo complained to his small raven friend.

"Oh please, I can see just fine; and move around or else you'll stick out and no one will give you any hints of being suspicious," Rukia advised rolling her eyes before she grabbed his arm and pulled him to the snack bar where Byakuya's cookies innocently sat.

"I have to go meet important people, try to enjoy yourself," Rukia said and then she glided away. Ichigo made to follow her, after all the reason he was there was to make she didn't get hurt, but was stopped by a firm grip on his upper arm.

"Feel like dancing with a stranger princess?" a voice asked. Ichigo turned to the man and was shocked at what he saw. The man was pale by all accounts and his hair was white, unlike most of the men here in suits and jacket he wore skin-tight brown pants with a red shirt and a brown jacket over that, his eccentric outfit was finished with ankle height black boots.

"If you like what you see, come dance with me," the stranger said breaking Ichigo out of his observance state of mind. Ichigo smiled slightly and made to answer when a sudden crash sounded from across the ballroom. Ichigo moved to run to where Rukia had walked earlier but once again was stopped by the hand on his arm.

"Don't know if this helps or not but the girl you were chasing after earlier is over there," the stranger offered pointing in the opposite direction Rukia had gone earlier. But it only made sense that she would try to shake her guard to make him enjoy himself. With a nod of thanks Ichigo ran off.

After she was out of sight Shiro leaned back on the wall behind him and surveyed the area around him. It was counterproductive to bring attention to himself but seeing the pretty little orange head in that dress had caused him to throw all logic out the window, it didn't matter anyway; they had found Szayel's little pet that they had sent in to act as a scout and distraction and thus all his other scouts should be moving out and he could only hope the distraction that had been set up so that no one would pay any attention to a few people ducking out of the party early wouldn't fall apart.

Ichigo was always one to ruin prepared plans, even if they were Byakuya's; so when his eye caught sight of bright blue ducking behind a private building his interest was perked. It took a bit of explaining to Rukia but she relented and Ichigo took off drawing his sword as he ran.

XxXxX

Grimmjow wasn't sure what it was, but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing to attention; and it was freaking him out.

"Szayel, does something feel off to you?" he asked looking around suspiciously. The pink-haired man shook his head no before going back to scolding his 'pet'. Grimmjow looked around again, it was almost too dark to see and they were in the noble's HUGE property...plus it looked like ghosts were around every corner so he could blame that for the feeling of being watched.

"I guess it's nothing then...you think Shiro's done kidnapping the chick?" Grimmjow asked no one particular.

"Course I am!" Shiro called as he walked up to his crew. Grimmjow smirked and made a movement with his hand that had the men behind him move to take the slouching form behind Shiro off his hands.

"You're sure that she won't be missed?" Grimmjow asked giving Rukia a short threatening look.

"Nah, we got it under control, Uryu complained the way over there but after I pushed him into the swarm of people he took on her persona quickly," Shiro responded calmly as he munched on one of Byakuya's cookies.

"You're also sure if Uryu gets caught he can get out?" Grimmjow asked as the two walked down to the shore line.

"Nope," Shiro responded plainly. Grimmjow snorted at the response, for a moment considering smacking the smaller male until he remembered the crazy punishments Shiro could think up, picking up their flailing victim he hopped onto the awaiting rowboat and let Yammy situate himself to row.

XxXxX

Back on the shore line Ichigo glared at the men boarding the little rowboat as a feeling of cold dread settled in his stomach, Rukia didn't know how to swim; if there was a problem she might very well drown. Ichigo considered his options:

Go back and tell Byakuya what he just witnessed, worst case scenario; hung for accusing a Lady.

Sneak onto ship after Rukia, worst case scenario; killed by pirates who think he's a she.

Be upfront with pirates and try to get Rukia back, worst case scenario; unknown.

Ichigo let out a quiet groan of frustration, mostly because all those scenarios were played out by Chappy and friends, and stood up from his hiding place as he let his hand slip to the knife hidden in the folds of his dress, option three it is.

XxXxX

I could ramble and lie about why this took so effin long but you don't want to hear that. My EOCs and MSLs are this month in a few weeks so all my free time goes to passing classes, sorry, after I'm done with those I'll focus on updates and other stuff like that until I have an established…whatever that thing is that we use, the word escapes me at the moment. In the next chapter I'm going back and forth, I'm going to have Grimmjow trip Ichigo how do you want that to end up:

falls flat on his face.

falls and lands on someone else.

falls on someone and lands in a comprising position *if so who?*

over Grimmjow's foot and walks on.

over Grimmjow's foot and glares.

a comment that makes Grimmjow trip over his own two feet *you can put what you want to be said*.

I'm sorry however I told you before, if I'm late pm or review yell at me to get my but in gear, PLEASE!


	4. Chapter 4

My defense? I have none. I put some yaoi fluff in there, in hopes that it would let me be forgiven but I wouldn't forgive myself either...did that make sense? Well I hope this is up to all your hopes. I combined the votes people gave for the trip scene so everyone who voted got what they want. :)

XxXxX

Shiro was just minding his own business, kidnapping unsuspecting women and extorting them for money, when a foot landed square on his face and he went flying into the sand; not only did it really hurt, it was surprising and was carried out by a high heeled shoe. Grimmjow didn't turn out much better; he didn't go down quite as quick as Shiro and ended up with a heel mark on his stomach, neck, and shins. The rest of the crew watched their captain and first mate go down and didn't bother to stick around for the rest of the show. Spitting sand out of his mouth Shiro was only just able to catch sight of the knife coming for his neck; he avoided it of course but was still reeling in pain and confusion, until his eyes were able to focus on the orange haired female in a fighting stance ten feet from him.

"Owww~," Shiro complained smirking slightly as he dropped to a crouch with a hand on his sword.

The girl just rolled her eyes and flipped the knife in her hand so that it gleamed in the moon. Shiro tensed the muscles in his legs and prepared to attack and across the sand Ichigo did the same; then they ran at each other, when they were a few feet away Grimmjow's foot popped up at Ichigo's ankles and she pitched forward onto Shiro. Grimmjow let out a sharp laugh that turned into a cry of pain as Ichigo's high heeled shoe made contact with his face, pitching him forward after Ichigo. Shiro groaned and glanced up to find Ichigo straddling his hips with her face in the crook of Shiro's neck and Grimmjow over the two of them with his arms planted on both sides of Shiro's head.

"Grimmjow, I think you're interrupting," Shiro called with a wink up at his first mate.

"Shut up jackass!" Grimmjow exclaimed. Shiro raised an eyebrow at the lack of response from the girl on top of him and was pleasantly surprised to find that she had been rendered unconscious.

"Well done Grimm, you knocked her out without meaning to," Shiro stated happily. Grimmjow had a blank look on his face for a moment before he noticed the position they were in and, blushing fifty shades of red, he growled and rolled over.

"The murderous firecracker is your problem," Grimmjow stated as he swung Rukia over his shoulder.

"My pleasure," Shiro cackled, he was pretty sure he heard Grimmjow mutter something about being a pain but couldn't be sure. Shiro swung the 'murderous firecracker' over his shoulder and was thankful to find she wasn't heavy.

"The crew ran off," Grimmjow growled sweeping his eyes over the empty beach.

"I told you we shouldn't hire cowards but noooooooooo, we need minimum wage work to keep a handle on our assets and higher price doesn't mean better work ethic," Shiro muttered as he walked into the freezing sea water to pull the raft ashore.

"Shut up Shiro, at least we hadn't paid them yet," Grimmjow defended.

"Cause that's the most important part," Shiro stated sarcastically as he jumped into the raft and thrust the oars at Grimmjow.

"Why do I have to row?" Grimmjow asked in disgruntlement as he looked down at the offending pieces of wood.

"I would a thought you'd be fine with this after losing our crew, getting snuck up on by a girl, and eating Nel's 'secret' sweet provisions," Shiro responded with a slightly insane grin at his blackmail.

"Have I ever told you that your existence irks me to no end and I would rather kill you than eat cake?" Grimmjow asked as he grabbed to oars.

"Only under your breath," Shiro responded as he leaned back in the raft and closed his eyes.

"What are we going to do about the firecracker?" Grimmjow asked after a while.

"I find her attractive so where going to keep her around till we find a use for her," Shiro responded without bothering to open an eye. They fell into comfortable silence after that as Grimmjow rowed out to their awaiting ship.

"Who do you think is going to ask first?" Grimmjow asked suddenly.

"Szlayel," Shiro responded without any thought.

"I'm betting its Nel," Grimmjow muttered as he glanced at the looming figure of their ship. "You think Aizen's still after it too?" Grimmjow asked quietly. Shiro's eyes snapped open and he glared over the water at the idea.

"Definitely," Shiro spat coldly turning as he turned his glare on Grimmjow.

"Deep breath captain, you wouldn't want to be angry the second we get back on the ship, everyone will ask questions," Grimmjow mocked. Shiro grinned but his glare didn't lighten up in the least.

"You guys are strange," Rukia piped up from the floor she was still placed on, her unexpected voice almost causing Grimmjow to capsize the raft.

"What the hell midget!" Grimmjow shouted after he got the raft back into a state of balance.

"You. People. Are. Strange." Rukia repeated as if it were obvious.

"Yep, we sure are your majesty," Shiro answered, his glare gone and replaced with mirth.

Grimmjow just snorted and began rowing again without another word about what was previously discussed as they finally made it back to the big wooden pirate ship.

"Ready for an adventure you majesty?" Shiro asked sarcastically.

"No, not really," Rukia responded swiftly having not picked up on the sarcasm. Shiro just smirked and tossed her to Grimmjow as he threw Ichigo over his shoulder and climbed up the side of ship.

XxXxX

A whole frigging month, maybe more. That's how long it took to write this chapter, the funny part? I wrote it in 2 hours and just forgot to post it. Hahahaha no. Sorry guys yahoo and my brain won't let me get on my email account so I don't get emails, which sucks. Ah well, please keep my brain on track with this story, I forget things WAY too much.

In the next chapter who will be the first to ask about Ichigo? Aka, who wins the bet made in this chapter and what does the looser have to do.

Grimmjow wins (Shiro does...)

Shiro wins (Grimmjow does...)

In a surprise turn of events (whatever my brain comes up with) Rukia wins (Grimmjow and Shiro do...)

Feel free to vote, review, yell, rant, smile, butterfly until next time.


	5. Chapter 5

School is back on, I have a computer at my house, and my update is late. Enjoy.

XxXxX

Shiro climbed up the latter with the finesse and ease that only comes from years of practice, smirking ever so often when Grimmjow would quietly swear as his hand or foot became caught in the rope ladder. The side of the boat was a deep brown walnut, he had been proud when he pillaged a ship containing the wood, and with the help of his crew, and the occasional stupid tradesman, he had given birth to his dream ship.

"Havin fun Grimm?" Shiro called down with a smirk. He was sure the response was something along the lines of 'fucking fantastic' but he couldn't be sure. Glancing up to see how much further there was to go he was pleasantly surprised to see he had reached the top. Swinging over the rail he couldn't help but smirk as he picked up on Szlyel's reluctantly intrigued gaze and a muttered curse as Grimmjow's head popped up over the rail.

"Who is she?" Szlyel asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Eye candy," Shiro responded as he moved to the staircase with Ichigo securely placed over his shoulder.

"NEL!" Grimmjow shouted in anger at the idea of losing another bet to Shiro.

"Awww, did something happen on the mainland; your face has a heel mark on it," Shiro heard Nel respond as she moved to look at Grimmjow's face.

Under the deck was just as awesome as the boat's framework. Having run out of walnut Shiro had switched to a soft wood that could be carved easily and had created intricate designs on the handrail, staircase, and doorframes that branched off from the stairs. Reaching the bottom of the stairs Shiro growled at the lack of lighting available. Lamps were necessary on the ship but were never readily available when he needed one, like right now when he was walking into the stronghold of the ship. Shiro, being the sadistic pirate he is, made the bottom of the ship a giant doom and death centered prison; complete with random torture devices and cast-iron cages. Sighing Shiro just walked through the door and picked a random cage to put Ichigo in. After making sure Ichigo was still unconscious Shiro started scheming about what Grimmjow would owe him this time.

XxXxX

Rukia was beyond confused; one second she's at a party, then she's on the beach, then Ichigo's saving her, then Ichigo's being captured, then she's on a little boat, then idiots figured out how to speak, then she was forced to listen to the blue haired idiot curse up a storm as they climbed onto the most beautiful ship she'd ever seen, and now she was seated out on the deck of said ship looking at a group of people a rainbow might as well have thrown up on to get that set of hair colors.

After a few minutes of nothing Rukia got bored and let her head fall backwards with the rest of her body onto the ship's deck.

"That was a delayed fainting episode," one guy with an eye patch stated.

"Women tend to go through every available possibility of ways this might not be happening before giving up," the guy with pink hair responded.

Rukia just started cackling as she sat back up. "It's impossible for this NOT to be happening and it's awesome!" she stated with a grin.

"I thought we warned Shiro about breaking into mental institutions," the pink haired one stated after a pregnant pause.

"Me too," the girl with the pretty green hair chimed in.

"We didn't break into a mental institution, we may as well have thought because this noble is the biggest chatterbox I have ever had to sit and listen too," the guy who kidnapped her, Grimmjow, stated with a sight drone to his voice.

"What's being crazy have to do with being chatty?" Rukia asked incredulously, honestly this was all probably the fault of the vodka the Women's Association had dared her to drink. Everyone just stared at her like she had two heads before Grimmjow snorted and walked to the other side of the deck.

"Grimmjow~," the captain, Shiro, called out as he raced up the steps and jumped on the blue haired man. "You get to be her assistance during her stay here," Shiro said pointing to Rukia as he spoke.

Nobody moved for a minute and then Rukia asked the only thing that could come to her mind at that current moment, "what if I don't want him?"

XxXxX

Ichigo's eyes didn't flutter opened like most peoples do in movies, nor did they snap open when consciousness came back, rather they stayed closed and Ichigo allowed himself to slowly take in his surroundings without breaking the look of being unconscious. He could smell the sea. He could feel hard wood under his fingertips. He felt the motion of a boat rocking and the feeling of the floor lurch slowly as an oar dipped into and emerge from a body of water. He was on a boat in the ocean….great.

Suddenly he was being lifted up and thrown over someone's shoulder and it took every ounce of willpower and luck not to jump or lurch at the unexpected movement. Then they were moving up at a quick but even pace, then they were moving down, then he was set down on the floor and after ten plus minutes of nothing Ichigo allowed his eyes to open. He could barely make out anything in the darkened room other than some scary looking objects and his cage's door. Moving his hand slowly across the floor Ichigo was surprised not to hear the hay or straw he felt under his fingers, and then his stomach dropped. With slow and slightly shaky hands Ichigo lifted his hand up to his ears and snapped…nothing. Letting out the shakey breath that had been locked in his lungs he tried again, and again, and again. He couldn't hear anything. Moving his hand to his ear to feel for blood or anything else to show how the damage might have occurred he felt a soft silk cloth most likely used to stop the bleeding on his ear. Pulling lightly he was beyond pissed when the cloth gave way from inside his ear where it had been blocking sound. Snapping his fingers he listened to the loud echo as it bounced off all the surrounding walls. Someone was going to regret that.

XxXxX

Questions, Comments, Complaints? Who stuck the cloth in Ichigo's ears, Rukia, Shiro, or Grimmjow…I don't know, you deside.


	6. Chapter 6

Hay look, an update! Sorry for the delay, it wasn't that I didn't have time because I did, it was just motivation. Anyway I have mixed reviews about who screwed with Ichigo's head: Rukia: 1 Grimmjow: 1, so if you would please leave your vote in the reviews section I can add that in the next chapter.

XxXxX

Byakuya wouldn't claim he knew his younger sister well, he wouldn't claim that they were close, and he wouldn't claim he knew her favorite color or style, but right now his sister seemed to be acting different. The clothes she wore were more feminine, and she had hit a growth spurt meant to be uncommon for girls her age. Her room had been redecorated and her vision seemed impaired, there was also the matter that he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Ichigo for almost a week and Rukia had yet to bring her favorite servant up in any conversation.

"Rukia," Byakuya called as soothingly as possible.

"What," was the response he received through the hard wood of Rukia's door. She had been spending too much time in there in his own personal opinion.

"We need to speak, now."

"I don't want to."

"Now Rukia or I'll have the women's association take care of your cooking needs."

"See if I care!"

Byakuya blinked, slightly taken aback, his sister hated it when someone other than Ichigo cooked her evening meals. "Did you and Ichigo have an argument?"

"Who?"

"Ichigo."

"What makes you think that he and I had a fight?"

Byakuya blinked again, Ichigo wasn't a boy, narrowing his eyes he decided to test a theory.

"Well I'll have him take care of gathering the watermelon for your dinner tonight," Rukia hated watermelon with a passion.

"Good, I love watermelon."

"Wrong answer." Byakuya stated as he drew the sword from his side and sliced through the door. "Where is my younger sister?" he demanded staring levelly at the pale imposter sitting on the bed with a needle and thread in a dress.

"Does it matter? You won't be able to save her even if you catch up to her, which is impossible." The stranger on the bed stated firmly as she stood and brushed off the dress she was wearing.

"If it does not have merit, neither does your life," Byakuya responded and swept his sword down where the imposter had been standing and had luckily dodged and jumped out the window.

"Catch her." Byakuya said to no one in particular and watched as the shadows around the room seemed to dissipate as his secret bodyguards sprinted after the fleeing imposter.

"Would you like me to prepare a search party?" Soi fon asked from her position behind Byakuya.

"Immediately and with as many men as you can muster," Byakuya responded without turning his head.

"YOU HEARD HIM!" she called out to the few forces who hadn't run off after the imposter.

"Would you like me to work on my own form of information gathering?" Soi fon asked.

"Do you feel a need for me to respond?" Byakuya asked without turning and, when he received no answer, figured she had taken off to do just that.

"Rukia, whatever you went and got yourself involved in I won't worry about, after all Ichigo's with you."

XxXxX

Rukia watched as the blue haired monkey man ran around after the crazy captain shouting profanities every time he missed.

"If your aim didn't suck there wouldn't be so many problems," Rukia stated after the monkey fell on its face.

"If you weren't such a pain in the ass I wouldn't have so many problems with watching you," the monkey responded.

"How am I hurting your butt?" Rukia asked incredulously. A couple people off to the side laughed at her response and the crazy captain threw an arm over the monkey's neck.

"See, she's all naive and clueless and we need her alive," the captain teased and pushed the monkey towards her. She glanced between the two for a few minutes and sighed.

"You guys are strange."

XxXxX

Ichigo twisted the screw on the hinge of the door on last time and smirked slightly as it came out between his slightly bloodied fingers. Moving to the last screw on the last hinge of the door Ichigo was slightly disappointed to find that it wasn't a screw, rather a nail that he couldn't twist out of the wood. Looking at the door for a few seconds Ichigo smirked and threw his foot against the caging and watched as the nail bent with the door under the pressure.

Changing tactics Ichigo braced his hands on either side of the caging and pushed, smirking as the door slowly swung out. His smirk changed to a panicked yelp as the nail broke and the caging tried to land on the floor, Ichigo felt his face become red from the effort it took to hold the door up and slowly lower it to the ground and was relieved when he could let go without there being a loud 'BAM'. Nodding to himself Ichigo stood up and walked over to the door, setting to work with the screws left over from his excursion to pick the lock.

Ichigo smirked when the lock clicked, standing up he put a hand on the door handle just as the door swung opened.

XxXxX

Shiro watched Grimmjow and the noble glare at each other before deaming the match perfect and applauding himself in his head for a job well done. Prancing over to the staircase he skipped down to visit his, most likely now conscious, prisoner.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs and inserting the key in the lock Shiro was surprised to find the door already unlocked and pushed on the door letting it swing opened.

XxXxX

I'm going to end it here, not because I'm mean or anything but because it's class time in five minutes.

Leave your vote on how thing work out for Grimmjow and Rukia and I'll see you guys soon :D.


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